the edge of the abyss
by underoriginal
Summary: No one ever thought the war would be easy. No one ever thought it would be this hard either.
1. Amethyst

The light hurts Amethyst's eyes. She's used to the dim half-light of Kindergarten, lit only by the glow of machinery. The world is bigger and brighter than she ever imagined.

The first few weeks, she hid herself away in the Lunar Sea Spire most of the time. It's the only gem territory in rebel hands, but she doesn't even feel safe there. The only time she really feels safe is when Rose is there and Rose can't be everywhere at once.

Amethyst has her own room in the Spire. It's a lot bigger than her hole, but she used to have all of Kindergarten to herself. She doesn't really like sharing.

A gentle knock on the door pulls her back to the present.

"Come in," she calls, pulling the door open with her whip so she doesn't have to get out of bed.

She snaps to attention when Garnet enters.

"Rose wants to see you," Garnet says. "I will take you to her."

It's the most Amethyst has ever heard her speak. "Did she say why?" Amethyst asks.

"Yes," Garnet says and doesn't elaborate.

Rose's headquarters are at the very peak of the Spire, protected by her shield. There's a temporary warp pad off to one side, but it's inactive. All the warp pads in the area are. As long as Homeworld controls the galaxy warp, none of the other pads are secure. They've already lost too many gems to cut warp streams.

Rose waits for them at her desk, still arrayed in gleaming pink armor. She smiles gently, her sword unsheathed at her hip.

"I assume Garnet didn't tell you why you're here," she says.

Amethyst shrugs and Rose sighs. "She really needs to learn to talk to people," she mutters, shaking her head. "I need you to accompany her on a scouting mission."

Amethyst blows her hair out of her eyes. "Are you kidding me?" she demands, crossing her arms. "I'm a gem warrior. I don't do scouting missions."

If Rose is impatient, she doesn't show it. She doesn't show any emotions that aren't peaceful and happy and loving. Honestly, it creeps Amethyst out sometimes. Rose gets up from her desk and leans down to embrace Amethyst.

"I need you for this," Rose says, gentle but persistent.

"But why me?" Amethyst asks. "Why not Pearl. She's good at scouting. In fact, why not just send Garnet by herself?"

"Amethyst," Rose says. "I need you to do this because you are a gem warrior. Someone has to keep an eye on Garnet."

Amethyst laughs. "Seriously? Garnet?" she demands. "Since when does Garnet need a babysitter?"

"I have my reasons," Rose says solemnly. "Now, will you accept the mission?"

"Fine, fine, whatever," Amethyst groans.

"Thank you," Rose says and kisses her on the forehead.

Garnet is waiting for her outside the office, leaning against the wall, her arms crossed defensively over her chest as best she can with giant gauntlets in the way. She almost never puts away her weapons.

"Let's go," she says.

Amethyst follows her to the warp pad outside the spire, clutching her whip like a lifeline.

"So, where are we going?" she asks.

Garnet shrugs.

Amethyst blinks. Garnet places a star shaped key in the base of the warp pad. It hums in a deliberate pattern, showing that their path is clear.

"You do know where we're going, right?" Amethyst repeats when they land.

Garnet shrugs again and points. "That way."

They're in a forest, fir trees growing so close together that only the barest suggestion of light can filter through. It reminds Amethyst of home, but it's not nearly as silent as the Kindergarten had been. Unseen creatures make all sorts of strange, unfamiliar noises and their quiet footfalls echo off the trees. Amethyst draws closer to Garnet.

"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?"

"Don't worry," Garnet says. "I'll find it."

Amethyst groans in annoyance, then catches herself. "Why am I even here?" she whispers.

Garnet doesn't reply.

They walk east in relative silence, following the path of a nearby stream. Amethyst fiddles with her whip, keeping her eyes on the trees around them. She can't shake the feeling that she's being watched and the silence is unbearable.

"So, why did you join Rose's Army?" she asks, desperate for conversation. It's the only thing she can think of to ask.

"Don't doubt my loyalty," Garnet snaps.

"Hey, hey, I'm not doubting," Amethyst laughs. "I'm just curious is all."

"We have our reasons," Garnet says grimly.

Ahead of them, the trees start to thin out.

"Yeah, I wanna know what your reasons are," Amethyst says. "Most of Rose's gems are, well, kinda defective. You're not. So. Why'd you join?"

Garnet looks at her with a blank expression. Amethyst is usually pretty good at reading people, but she goes by the eyes. She doesn't think she's ever seen Garnet's eyes.

"We're leaving cover," Garnet says. "Hold my hand."

"What?" Amethyst shrieks. "I'm not a child! I'm a gem warrior. I don't need to hold your hand."

Garnet sighs. "Don't be arrogant," she orders. "Hold my hand."

Amethyst grumbles as she slips her hand into Garnet's gauntlet. It might just be her imagination, but she thinks Garnet relaxes.

Garnet leads her to an open plain covered in gently swaying grass and abandoned weapons. A few red berries dot the landscape. Most of the weapons are massive, easily three or four times as large as the biggest weapons Amethyst has seen.

"Where are we?" she asks.

"This was a battlefield once," Garnet says, her hand tightening around Amethyst's. "In the early days of the war. About a century ago, when Homeworld still thought we were barely a threat. Hundreds of gems fought and died here."

"Oh," Amethyst murmurs. "Did we win?" She hates to admit it, but she's glad she's holding Garnet's hand.

"If you like," Garnet says. She shakes herself. "Come on. There's work to do."

They walk the battlefield for hours, Garnet bubbling any gem she comes across. They don't wander. Garnet walks with single minded purpose, though Amethyst couldn't say where. The sunlight glints off the weapons, shining in her eyes.

"I still don't know why I'm here," Amethyst points out when the silence becomes unbearable.

"I needed you with me," Garnet says, still holding Amethyst's hand.

"You could've had anyone hold your hand," Amethyst grumbles.

Garnet opens her mouth to answer and drops to her knees with a wordless scream. Her hand convulses around Amethyst's hard enough to crush bone. Amethyst tries to pull away but she can't break Garnet's grip and Garnet doesn't even notice she's there.

"Come on," Amethyst pleads. "We need to get out of here." She has no idea where they need to go, just knows they have to get moving. "Garnet. Come on. Please."

Garnet just screams.

All around them, broken fragments of weapons jerk violently from the sheer force of Garnet's cries. Amethyst splits her free arm in two and forms herself ears just so she can cover them. When she's dulled her hearing enough to think, she grabs Garnet and starts dragging her back to the warp pad.

Garnet is heavier than she looks and it takes Amethyst a few tries to get her moving, using the death grip on her hand like an anchor. Her joints strain with the effort.

They're halfway to the warp pad when Garnet finally stops screaming. Amethyst blinks in the sudden silence.

"Are you alright?" she asks, her voice straining with fear and exhaustion.

"No," Garnet gasps. "We need to leave. Now."

She gathers Amethyst into her arms and runs. The landscape flies past them faster than Amethyst knew possible. They reach the warp pad in a matter of minutes.

Garnet activates the warp pad.

There's a sound like metal tearing and the warp stream vanishes, leaving them stranded in space.

For a moment, no one moves. They hang there, suspended in time. Then Amethyst starts laughing. Once she's started, she can't seem to stop and she laughs louder and louder, spinning around without gravity to keep her upright.

"Quiet," Garnet snaps. "They'll hear us."

Amethyst laughs louder still. "Come on, Garnet," she crows between gasps. "What's gonna hear us out here?"

As if in answer, a smooth black orb floats into view. It's easily twice Garnet's size and it hums quietly, drifting towards the stranded gems.

"A drone," Garnet whispers.

A line of glowing red light encircles the drone. It splits in half, twin cannons emerging from its core, aiming unerringly at Garnet and Amethyst.

It fires.

Garnet grabs Amethyst's collar and drags her away. There's just enough air to make movement difficult. The beams of light barely miss, clipping the end of Amethyst's hair.

"Stay back," Garnet orders. She pushes off Amethyst's shoulder, lunging at the drone.

The drone dodges, fires again, breaks Garnet's left gauntlet off. Garnet hisses in annoyance, the extra weight of her remaining gauntlet spinning her around. She tries to summon the missing gauntlet, but the drone fires and she loses the right gauntlet. Unarmed, defenseless, and barely able to dodge, Garnet folds her hands against her chest and stares at the drone like she can destroy it with the sheer force of her rage.

The drone glows, ready to strike.

That's when Amethyst moves.

She forms a fin like she's seen aquatic organics use and pushes herself in range of the drone. She pulls her whip from her gem, wrenches the cannon away from Garnet. It fires at nothing. Amethyst shifts back to her normal form and jumps inside, tearing out everything she can get her hands on. Her vision narrows until all she can see is the drone's dying systems.

She flinches at a light touch to her shoulder.

"We could have used it," Garnet says.

"It nearly killed you," Amethyst points out, too tired to be angry.

"No it didn't," Garnet says. Before Amethyst can bristle she adds "It wasn't alone."

Sure enough, humming fills the air as three more drones materialize. Garnet summons her gauntlets.

"If we get out of this alive, I want some straight answers from you," Amethyst says, biting down on her fear.

"If," Garnet agrees.

The drones drift towards them slowly, almost casually. Garnet and Amethyst float back to back, linking their arms together. Amethyst shifts the fin back. Two more drones emerge, one from above and one from below. They're surrounded.

The drones start glowing in perfect unison, cannons pointed directly at them.

"Do you trust me?" Garnet asks.

"Is this really the time?" Amethyst demands.

"Answer the question."

Amethyst sighs. "Yeah. I trust you." She has to yell to be heard over the hum of the drones.

"Brace yourself," Garnet says.

And falls apart.

Her body writhes and shifts and glows, constantly moving. The drones fire and Garnet expands to shield Amethyst, the laser beams passing through her harmlessly. A sound like singing comes from her, if singing shook the air violently enough to shake the drones to pieces. They fly apart and drift into space.

Garnet reforms, summoning her visor to cover her third eye.

"You can move here," she observes.

Amethyst nods, unable to tear her eyes from Garnet's stoic face.

"Let's try that stream," Garnet says, pointing to a warp off in the distance.

Amethyst takes Garnet by the hand and leads her there.

"How did you-" she asks.

"Not now," Garnet says. "We have to hurry. It's almost too late."

Amethyst doesn't ask.

They land in the middle of a battle. Amethyst doesn't know where they are but she sees Rose's flag. Pearl carries it of course. Pearl always carries Rose's standard. Rose stands beside her, sword in one hand, mace in the other, her legendary shield spreading out to protect a company of twenty soldiers. Her hair gleams like blood in the sunset and her gentle smile is gone, leaving behind an expression of utter fury. She's surrounded, cut off from the soldiers she protects with only Pearl by her side to protect her.

"Are you ready?" Garnet shouts above the roar of combat.

"Let's do this," Amethyst calls back.

Garnet leaps into the fray, scattering smaller gems with her gauntlets. Amethyst follows behind, picking off the few that Garnet misses. She loses herself in combat, spinning and shifting and striking until she's almost forgotten her own name.

Most of the enemy are other Kindergarten gems, twice her size and three times as deadly. But that doesn't matter because there's nobody in the universe who can shift like Amethyst. She changes forms faster than she ever has before until she loses track of friend, foe, fear and anything that's not an uncracked gem.

Behind her, she can hear singing. There's shouting too, but the singing is what she remembers, what pulls her out of the battle rage.

She comes back to herself just in time to see Rose Quartz die.


	2. Pearl

For a moment, the battlefield is still.

Every eye turns towards the empty space where Rose Quartz once stood. Her armor, human made, lies abandoned on the ground, surrounded by dusky pink shards. In the quiet, the only thing Pearl can hear is her own breathing. It sounds like she's crying.

Rose's standard droops without the wind to support it. Pearl's spear is chipped. There's a small crack in the blade near the top. She has to remember to fix it. She's surrounded by Kindergarten gems, cut off from anyone who could help her.

Rose could help her.

Rose is dead.

One of the Kindergarten gems steps towards her. The gem's arm falls to the ground. The same ground where Rose lies. Homeworld is even trying to desecrate her grave now. There's another chip in Pearl's spear.

The gem retreats into herself like the coward she is. Pearl wants desperately to crush her into dust, but Rose wouldn't have wanted that for her. She'll let Garnet do it.

Pearl stands over Rose's abandoned armor. At least she won't turn aside, even if everyone else did. The Kindergarten gems turn away now, many retreating into their gems in shame. The spear grows heavy in her hands and she knows it's not supposed to be like this but she can't remember what it is supposed to be like and she's so, so tired.

Rose's standard falls to the ground. Someone is supposed to be carrying it. Oh, right. Her. She is supposed to be carrying it. She picks it up out of the ribcage of another gem. No one is allowed to touch it but her.

The battle continues now as Rose's army tries to fulfill her wishes but it doesn't matter. She can't express her wishes anymore.

There is something Pearl is forgetting. It lingers on the edges of her consciousness, asking for her attention. She ignores it.

Rose's shield crumbles.

The Homeworld gems rally, preparing to crush the resistance, secure in their victory. Pearl readies herself for combat. She will die, she's sure of it, but not without a fight. Rose wouldn't have wanted that for her. Not for her planet, anyway.

In the corner of her eye, she sees Garnet brace herself, gauntlets glowing with the power of their wielder. Garnet's gem shines brilliantly on her chest and Pearl remembers.

"To me!" she bellows, battle singing in her body. "Drive them out!"

Rose's army roars a wordless reply and charges. They are consumed by fury to the very last gem and Homeworld doesn't stand a chance. They fall like trees in the long-dead forest where the Kindergarten was built. Most flee the field. The few who remain are crushed to powder in Garnet's fists. Pearl can't bring herself to stop her.

Silence falls once more and rain soaks the battlefield. It will nurture the plants that live here one day, but today it casts a pall over the dead. Pearl blinks the rain from her eyes. She's never understood how life and death work on Earth, why life comes only from death. Here on this strange planet she must learn to call home, the dead provide for the living. All the living can do is wait their turn.

A drop of rain on her forehead catches Pearl's attention. She has to move. She reaches under Rose's breastplate and pulls her gem from the wreckage. She turns it over and over in her hands, checking frantically for damage. There is none. She clutches the gem to her body and sobs with relief.

Garnet picks her way over the stricken field, nimbly skirting around fallen weapons. She doesn't look where she places her feet. She doesn't need to. She never does.

"Is she alright?" Garnet asks, her voice taut as a harp string.

Pearl nods. "She will be." She takes a shuddering breath. "They hit the decoy. Only her body was damaged."

"Good," Garnet whispers. "That's good. I thought-" she breaks off. "Nevermind."

She pulls Pearl into a firm embrace, Rose's gem nestled between them. Someone starts shaking uncontrollably as the adrenaline fades. Pearl isn't sure which one of them it is.

Exactly sixty seconds later, Garnet breaks off. "Alright," she says. "Back to work. Put Rose somewhere safe. Don't post a guard." She walks away.

"What?" Pearl demands. "Why not?"

Garnet doesn't turn around. "As far as Homeworld knows, Rose Quartz died here. Put up a memorial. Make it convincing."

Pearl wants to scream, to rage, to shout to the heavens that Rose Quartz lives, but Garnet is her superior. She can't toss aside the whole chain of command just because she's upset. No matter how much she wants to. So she wraps Rose safely in her standard and begins the long walk to the Lunar Sea Spire.

She has to walk because the warp pads aren't safe. Anyone who uses them dies. Garnet and Amethyst used them. They're still alive. Pearl isn't sure how and she doesn't have the energy to think about it.

Garnet leads the procession back to their base. Stoic, silent, poised Garnet. Rose's right hand. Pearl clutches convulsively at her bundle, trying to stifle her jealousy. She's never felt more alone. Her spear trails along the ground, its spiralled edge broken off almost completely. She isn't sure when it got damaged. Most likely dragging it over the rocks had done it. That seems plausible. She refuses to consider any other explanation.

Pearl places herself in the middle of the group, where Rose will be protected on all sides. She hears the gems around her muttering to themselves but she doesn't understand what they're saying. All she knows is that she doesn't like it. A few look mutinous, others grieved, still more angry. Most of them just look tired.

She tries not to think about how she must look.

They make camp that night in a forest of standing stones. The Lunar Sea Spire is too far away to make the journey in one day and they need time to rest. Whenever they leave, Rose posts her plant guardians around the Spire. The guardians will survive without her guidance, but directionless and either unwilling or unable to follow orders. Their army could easily be walking from defeat to defeat. Rose's plants are infamous for their bloodlust and Pearl can only pray she never has to face them.

She perches on top of one of the standing stones. It's not the tallest, but it's taller than any of the others dare to climb. Below her, Garnet walks among the troops, talking quietly, giving them gentle encouragement. She falls into the role of leader like she was meant to be there.

In that moment, Pearl hates her.

Then the moment passes and Pearl hates herself instead.

She curls herself around Rose's gem and cries until she can't cry anymore. Below her, gems busy themselves with setting up watch rotas or tending each other's injuries. She knows she should go down to help them but she can't bring herself to move. She has to keep Rose safe. She has to be Rose's shield.

She starts laughing at the thought, but she calms herself before hysteria takes hold. She can't panic now. She has to stay strong.

She watches idly as Garnet wanders off into the woods. Alone. Amethyst tries to go with her, but Garnet says a few words and sends her back. Pearl wishes she were close enough to hear their conversation. Once Garnet is out of sight, Amethyst heads straight to Pearl's pillar.

"Hey, are you gonna come down?" Amethyst calls up to her, voice grating against the raw edges of Pearl's grief.

Pearl can't summon the energy to reply.

Amethyst blows the hair out of her eyes and shifts into a bird, flying up to Pearl's perch.

"Go away," Pearl whispers.

"No way," Amethyst declares. "You can't just hang out up here all night."

"Why not?" Pearl asks.

"Look, if I don't get to hide in a hole when I'm upset then neither do you," Amethyst snaps.

"I'm not hiding," Pearl insists.

"Yeah sure whatever," Amethyst mumbles. She takes a deep breath, rustling her feathers. "Is she- is she gonna be okay?"

Pearl wants to reach out, to comfort her, but she doesn't dare let go of Rose, not even for a moment. "She will," she assures, hoping Amethyst can't hear the tremors in her voice. "She just needs some time to heal."

"Are you sure?" Amethyst asks. She sounds younger than Pearl has ever heard her before, even younger than the half-feral gem they rescued from the carnage of the Battle of Kindergarten.

"Yes," Pearl says with such conviction that she almost believes it. "I'm sure."

Amethyst flies away, down to the rest of the army. Pearl stays in her pillar until dawn, singing quietly to Rose's gem. It's the same songs Rose once sang for Pearl. Back in simpler times.

As soon as the sun rises, Garnet reappears and the march home continues. This time, Pearl walks next to Garnet.

"Many of them are ready to desert," Garnet notes over the murmur of the gems behind them.

"Most of us were only here for Rose," Pearl points out. "And the rest of us relied on her shield for survival."

"How many do you think would stay if we told them Rose was dead?" Garnet asks. As always, her voice is calm and level and utterly devoid of anything like passion.

"Don't you already know? Because of your Future Vision?" Pearl asks. The problem with talking to Garnet is that it's almost impossible to tell when she asks a rhetorical question.

Garnet adjusts her visor. "There are thousands of possible paths the future can take."

"Can't you tell which paths are more likely?" Pearl asks. "Do you see them more clearly?" She clutches at Garnet's arm in excitement. She's known about Future Vision for millennia, but Sapphire rarely talked about it and Garnet even less.

Garnet hums. "Well," she says, staring off into the distance. "You probably won't be bullied to death by wasps."

Pearl blinks. "Wait? That could happen?"

"Probably not," Garnet shrugs. "But it might."

"How many people do you see get bullied to death by wasps?" Pearl asks.

"A few," Garnet replies. "But we're getting off topic. How many do you think would stay?"

Pearl's good mood deflates. She looks back at the troops following them. A few are singing to each other, trying to keep their spirits up. Most of them are silent. More than a few have bubbles trailing behind them or carry cracked gems in their hands. Amethyst is in the form of a horse, even more gems in baskets hanging from her back. She's the only one still strong enough to shift her form.

"Not many," Pearl replies. "Certainly not enough to keep fighting."

Garnet makes a sound that could almost be called a laugh. "We've never had enough to keep fighting," she points out. "It never stopped us before."

"We've always had Rose," Pearl whispers.

"We still do," Garnet says. "She'll be back. We just have to hold together until then."

There's a scream behind them and Pearl turns to see another soldier retreat into her gem. Garnet picks the gem up and puts her in one of Amethyst's baskets.

"Hold together," Pearl mutters, adjusting her grip on Rose's gem. "Right."

The sun is directly overhead when they reach the Lunar Sea Spire. Towering waves hide the entrance from sight, making it impossible to discern where Rose's guardians are. Garnet walks into the churning sea without fear and Pearl watches it swallow her whole. A few minutes later, the waves collapse, crashing down into a tame puddle thousands of feet deep. The water stills and heavy stone blocks drift up from the depths, interlocking into a tasteful footpath edged with pink buds. They don't bloom. They won't bloom until Rose returns.

Without any sort of discussion, Garnet claims Rose's office and Pearl drifts to her side, taking up Garnet's old position as second in command. They spend the next eighteen hours talking, planning, strategizing. Preparing to wage war without Rose.

Garnet says that Rose will be back within a week, but Pearl doesn't miss how her plans stretch for months. She doesn't mention it and neither does Garnet.

Pearl puts Rose's gem in an alcove near the top of the Spire. It's a small, hidden spot, but it has enough space for Rose to reform. Pearl's sure she's the only one who knows about it.

She wants to leave something, a cushion or a light or a guard, to comfort Rose, but she can't. As much as she hates to do so, she knows Garnet is right. The enemy can believe Rose is dead, but they can never be allowed to know she's vulnerable.

All they can do now is wait.


	3. Garnet

The world is too quiet without Rose in it.

Garnet has always been quiet, preferring to listen to others speak, but that doesn't mean she has an aversion to noise. In fact, the opposite is true. She can hardly think through the silence in the Lunar Sea Spire.

It's not actually silent, though, which is the worst part. Gems murmur amongst each other as they prepare for missions. Rose's plant guards, formed from budding trees, creak and moan with every stray gust of wind. Waves beat against the Sea Spire, sending mist spiralling up and out in all directions. In fact, more than a few of their more sensitive troops stay in the dark underbelly of the spire to avoid the constant background noise.

But none of that matters to Garnet. She can't hear Rose.

Every Gem, every living creature, has a Song, a melody that wells up from the core of their being, the inevitable byproduct of being made up of uncountable vibrating particles and the reason that every sentient species in the universe has some form of music. Garnet can't say for sure whether each one is unique, but she has never encountered two beings with the same Song.

Inside her gem, Rose's Song is almost silent.

Garnet tries to ignore it, tries to run a war, but the unbearable silence weighs down on her until she feels she can barely stand and even her Future Vision blurs into nothing.

Finally, four days after Rose falls, Garnet puts Pearl in temporary command and leaves the Spire.

She doesn't know where exactly she means to go until she stops moving and she looks up to find herself in Kindergarten. Kindergarten is utterly silent, undisturbed even by Garnet's footfalls. The pitted walls of the canyon absorb most of the sound. It's silence in it's purest form. As much as Garnet loathes the Kindergarten and what it meant for the planet, she's grateful. She can't feel the lack of something that was never supposed to be there.

"Alright," Ruby says, "We aren't handling this very well." She isn't sure if the thought passes Garnet's lips, but it doesn't matter either way.

"Clearly," Sapphire agrees. "So how do we handle it?"

Ruby shrugs. "Beats me." Then she shakes Garnet's head. "No," she says. "No that's not going to work. We can't wait for someone else to make a decision. We need to come up with a plan."

Sapphire thinks for a moment, possibilities flying through her mind. "Step one," she declares. "Secure the Sea Spire. Keep it safe."

Ruby nods. She can deal with simple, immediate problems. "The plant guardians won't stay on our side for much longer without Rose." She forces herself not to dwell on the idea of 'without Rose'. "And we can't kill only some of them because then the others would revolt."

"We can't kill all of them either," Sapphire adds.

Ruby considers the frankly pitiful fighting force they have left. "Definitely not. What about the living armor?"

"The living armor that very nearly killed us when it stopped obeying our orders?" Sapphire asks, amusement and incredulity slinking in the shadows of her skirts. "That living armor?"

"Yep," Ruby confirms cheerfully.

Sapphire sees where Ruby's thoughts are going and grins, planting a light mental kiss on Ruby's cheek. "We'll have to discuss that with the others first. We don't want Pearl to worry."

"Okay, step two: talk to Pearl," Ruby says. "What's step three?"

Sapphire considers. "Step three: duck."

By then it's too late.

Garnet regains consciousness with a splitting headache and shackles around her wrists. She keeps her eyes closed and her face slack, taking stock of her surroundings.

The first thing she notices is that her palms burn. She allows herself a moment of relief. Her real gems are still hidden. The enemy doesn't know she's a fusion. Not yet, anyway. There's a hairline crack in the false gem on her chest. Another welcome sign. Once she has assured herself that her body is intact, she expands her awareness outwards. She's upright, bound to a chair by her wrists and ankles. She doesn't need to test the bonds to know that they will hold.

There's a faint buzzing in the room, the sure sign of a security camera watching her every move, but she doesn't hear the Song of any other gem.

"We need more information," Ruby mutters, forming escape plan after escape plan and scrapping them just as quickly. Even curled up in Garnet's mind, she doesn't raise her voice above a whisper.

Sapphire doesn't reply, but she doesn't have to. They've shared one mind for long that they speak to each other only for the fun of it. Or, in Ruby's case, to calm their nerves.

Garnet opens her eyes.

She gasps, shudders, pulls at the shackles hard enough to leave imprints in her skin, then goes limp, glaring defiantly at the door. Without her vizor, the tiny room is bright enough to blind her, the light flickering above her head. She squints at the light, tears forming in the corners of her main eyes. She keeps the third eye closed. It's the most sensitive and she doesn't dare risk damaging it. She tries to shield her eyes, fails, and sags in her chair with a frustrated growl.

A few minutes later, the door swings open with a crash and a gem strides into the room. Her skin is a soft, pale blue. It's the only soft thing about her. She's tall and broad, nearly the size of Rose Quartz but her features are sharp and menacing. The heavy armor she wears bulks her up even more. Even her gem, located in the center of her face, looks harsher than Rose's smooth, round gem.

"So, this is the infamous Garnet," she snarls, "Scourge of Homeworld."

"It is?" Garnet asks. "Why didn't anyone tell me she'd be here?"

The gem's eye twitches, but she doesn't rise to the bait. "I'm not exactly in the mood for games," she says. "And you're not exactly in a position to disagree." She pulls a warhammer out of her gem to emphasize the point.

Garnet nods. "If you say so."

The gem sighs. "I had a feeling it would be like this," she mutters. "Let's get to the point. Tell me all your plans, and I might just let you live." She sounds more irritated than threatening, dropping any deliberate attempt at intimidation. Not that she needs to try very hard.

Garnet scoffs. "I don't even know your name, and you want me to give you information?"

"It's Chalcedony," the gem says. "Where is your base?"

Garnet doesn't answer.

Chalcedony slams her hammer into the side of Garnet's head.

"Where is your base?" Chalcedony repeats in the same calm, friendly tone.

Garnet shrugs. "I would give you directions," she apologizes, fighting to keep her voice level, "but I don't know where I am right now. Makes it hard to navigate."

Chalcedony chuckles. "I'll give you credit where it's due. That's not a half bad excuse."

This second blow cracks Garnet's skull.

Her forms shudders violently enough to disguise her smile. Ruby and Sapphire brace themselves. There's a delicate line here. Too much damage will force them apart, into their gems. Not enough damage and their plan won't work.

"You want to be careful with that," Garnet says, trying to focus through the pain. "I can't talk with a broken jaw."

Chalcedony nods. "Yeah, and I guess you're not much use as a hostage if you're all beat up either. Shame. This coulda been fun."

She closes the door behind her to give them some semblance of privacy. She leaves the camera on, but Garnet relaxes visibly.

"Is there any chance you'll tell me anything important without me having to hurt you?" Chalcedony asks.

"No," Garnet says.

Chalcedony nods, leaning up against the door. "Well, that's gonna be a problem," she says. "Y'see, I'm not leaving here until you give me some good information and I got a whole lot better things I could be doing with my time than chatting with a traitor. So let's just get this over with quickly."

She hefts her hammer.

Garnet braces herself.

"I'll ask you this one more time," Chalcedony snarls. "Where. Is. Your. Base?"

Garnet laughs out loud, because she knows what happens next. She knows and Chalcedony has no idea.

In the split second that Chalcedony hesitates, Garnet grasps the metal arms of her chair, sending a pulse of electricity through the room, frying the camera and, more importantly, the door's electric lock.

Chalcedony drops her hammer in shock and rushes to the door, but it doesn't open.

"What the hell did you do?" she growls.

Garnet doesn't answer, all her attention focused inwards. She only has seconds to make this work, but she isn't afraid of failure. If anything, she's afraid of success.

Ruby and Sapphire have danced together for centuries. They both know the steps of the dance as instinctively as humans know how to breathe. In all the time they've been fused, neither has ever misstepped.

Sapphire slips.

She falls, folding her consciousness in on itself as small as she can make it, keeping the fusion together, but allowing Ruby complete control.

Garnet's skin reddens and her third eye retreats back into her skull until it resembles a tattoo more than a true eye. Her Future Vision goes blind, stranding her in the present. She shudders, her body scrambling to master the newfound power imbalance. She thrashes in her chains as her body contorts and Chalcedony draws back in fear and disgust.

Just before new limbs can break out of her skin, Ruby pulls. She's stronger than Garnet, stronger than she knows what to do with on her own, and the shackles snap like brittle twigs.

Sapphire unfurls, takes up her accustomed spot, continues the dance like nothing ever happened.

Garnet reforms her vizor.

Chalcedony picks up her hammer and charges, but Garnet is ready for her. She catches the hammer in her bare hands and snaps it in half. Then, she bubbles the pieces so Chalcedony can't summon a new one.

Chalcedony blinks in shock, then drops to her knees. "I see why they call you the Scourge," she says with the barest suggestion of awe. She closes her eyes. "Do it quickly."

Garnet reforms her gauntlets, places a hand on Chalcedony's gem. Chalcedony flinches, but doesn't pull away. Thousands of possible futures flicker across Garnet's vision, but there are only a handful of ways this encounter could end. Seconds pass and Chalcedony cautiously opens her eyes.

"Where are we?" Garnet asks, keeping half her attention on the camera and the hall outside.

Chalcedony laughs wryly and doesn't answer.

"You're a captain, right?" Garnet asks.

"How'd you guess?" Chalcedony sighs.

"It doesn't matter," Garnet says.

She hauls Chalcedony to her feet and binds her hands with her own belt.

"I won't ask you for information," she promises. "I won't try to turn you traitor either. I just need a hostage until I'm out of here. But if you try to fight back, I will crush you to powder."

By some miracle, she keeps her voice steady. Her head is in agony and pulling out of her bonds just made it worse. The pain is bad enough to shift the balance of the fusion, making her dangerously unstable. She grits her teeth and pushes Chalcedony forward.

Chalcedony is taller and broader than her so Garnet keeps her whole body hidden behind Chalcedony's and Ruby retreats slightly to let Sapphire's Future Vision guide them.

Garnet opens the door of her cell to find the hallway empty.

"They're trying to confuse us," Ruby declares. "That's why there's no guards. They want us to get lost so we have to turn back without a fight."

Sapphire giggles. "They'll fail."

Garnet is silent.

For the first few corridors, she guides herself by steering Chalcedony towards each possible turn and seeing which one makes her tense, but Chalcedony picks up on the method and tenses at each one.

Sapphire pushes forward a little more, seeing where each path leads. Garnet's legs shake with the exertion of staying upright.

Finally, they come to an open space and Garnet grins. The Galaxy Warp. Right in front of her. It's guarded by six Kindergarten warriors, but Garnet doesn't care. The opportunity is too good to pass up.

"Halt!" one of the guards snaps.

Garnet ignores her. She shoves Chalcedony to the ground and smashes a foot into her gem, cracking it almost in two. The guards charge. She ducks under the fist guard and slams her head into a pillar. The pillar crumbles. The guard's gem shatters into dust, but that's when Garnet realizes just how badly she miscalculated.

She's alone. She's surrounded. She's injured. And now her enemies are pissed off.

"Surrender," a guard says, her voice shaking with grief and rage. "You can't win. Surrender or die."

Sapphire is blind from the pain, black spots dancing across even her vision of the present. Ruby's rage burns unchecked, but her limbs are too slow, too weak to rip apart anyone who dares to threaten her Sapphire.

Garnet lowers her hands. The guard who spoke takes a cautious step forward.

Just as she places her hand on Garnet's shoulder, a warp pad activates, a familiar song humming through the air. Reinforcements have arrived. Sapphire laughs, Ruby cheers, Garnet grins.

Pearl and Amethyst join her dance.


	4. Alexandrite

Alexandrite _breathes_. Six arms stretch and twist, reveling in existence. She unfolds from the ground in a glow of gem and form and creation and return to what-has-been and the edges of what-will-be.

She tilts her head up, up, up and the stars dance and sing to her, for her. She is part of them. They are part of her. She burns like the stars but not nearly for so long.

There are screams and roars and shouts somewhere below her and she looks down and remembers. There are five who wish to hurt her, but she has six arms (two mouths) and she _will not_ fall here (then where? doesn't matter not here not yet). She picks up the gems beneath her (young, so young, older than i am, not saying much) and snaps their forms between her fingertips. They fall down, down, down into eternity.

Eternity.

Space, time, distance, never ending, unstoppable. _Right there_.

She lunges for the Galaxy Warp, brings her full weight to bear and she _sinks_, pulls herself towards the heart of the Earth, turns the shackles of gravity into her weapon. The Galaxy Warp, strains, cracks, breaks and something deep inside Alexandrite's mind is furious.

No way back. Never was. Nothing to go back to. No reason to go forward. No way to stop the future. Never is.

There is no pain, just a vague prickling sensation, but there are bolts deep in her flesh now. Bolts with ropes leading back to her captors.

Her mask slides back and she laughs, long and loud, her tongue lolling out of her fanged mouth and she tastes the fear in the air. (isn't it lovely? it gets old, where have i tasted this before? you don't want me to answer that)

She could pull the bolts out, but she doesn't. She was never meant to live. (to be made, and yet here we are) The security of this construct is irrelevant. She has the enemy right where she wants them.

She pulls, holding onto the ropes (no point in hurting more than necessary). The cannons, guns, bows, all of them crumble, dragged along behind her and gems with them.

As soon as she reaches the comforting embrace of warp space, she lets go. Those who dared desecrate her body drift away, lost in the abyss (should we go after them? the drones will finish them off, exactly, exactly).

For a blessed moment, she floats, then memory returns.

Alexandrite _roars_.

Her feet land in the Galaxy Warp and it cracks as she wills it with every step. A few scattered ants try to resist her (valiant, not a desirable trait in an enemy). She crushes them.

She stumbles (we could have spared them, we didn't, they didn't deserve it) but she keeps going. Rage wraps itself around a core of grim necessity. She has no time or heart to spare for mercy.

She has walked this path before, most of it anyway, but she was distracted by the pain then and she is distracted by the rage now.

This is your fault. You told me not to post a guard. You should have left her somewhere safe. I thought I did. This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't left. It did happen. We just have to deal with the consequences. And you'd know all about consequences, wouldn't you? Stop fighting. We can figure out who to blame later. Now. _Later_.

Her mask cracks, reforms, cracks again, shudders, shakes, but comes out solid, in the end. (it is the end right now, not yet)

There are questions, asked and answered, and her feet carry her closer and closer to where she knows she must go.

The enemy begins to rally, fusing into larger forms to try to bring her down. She laughs and laughs as the fools bring their gems closer to her mouths. Throats tear and arms fall and voices, the few that are left, scream, but only the voices she hears outside her contruct still make a sound.

She's looking for something very important, something that has to be found. She can feel it calling to her. Not it. Her.

Rose.

She runs, crossing miles in heartbeats, reaches a massive tower, a fortress that stretches high above even her head. Her fingers, all thirty of them, dig deep into the walls and she hauls herself upwards.

The gems at the top pour boiling, smoking, steaming water down on her head, trying to make her fall but she can feel Rose calling to her, louder than the pain. (what did they think that would do? we can swim in lava, but we can't, we'll look after you)

There are bolts again, digging into her back, trying desperately to pull her towards the ground. She smiles and lets them. The tower falls with her. She punches her way through its heart before it can crush her and catches the pink gem that tumbles through the hole.

A song she knows, has always known, will always know blooms deep in her chest. Rose is safe.

But it's not over yet. The alarm has been raised and at least a gross of gems pour into and out of the wreckage, weapons at the ready. She places Rose in her mask for safekeeping, swallows her to be sure. No need to worry about Rose reforming inside her. She won't be around that long.

The enemy bring cannons with them and lasers and missiles this time, the most sophisticated weapons they have to bear. Their offense is the stuff of legend, precise and powerful, using no more force than necessary in one blow, but never needing a second blow if the first one lands.

Their defense is childish.

With a scream of rage, she charges. Most of the enemy, technicians and medics, scatter at the sight of her gaping maw. Many warriors go with them.

The few who dare remain behind fall to her iron-tipped claws. A light, glittering dust fills the air and coats her lungs as she breathes it in. It grates against the inside of her construct and her rage burns still hotter.

Billions of light years away, a star goes nova. The inhabitants of nearby planets tell stories of the sight that would have been passed down for generations, were there any generations left to hear. There are none.

She stretches and flexes, peering around warily for some new foe to fight, but she finds none.

Those who could have fought fled and those who didn't flee are in no shape to fight. In fact, they're in no shape at all.

As she begins the trek back to her home, slower this time, there is time now for luxury. The low hum from the gem nestled inside of her comforts her. (see? of course she's safe, a few minutes later and she wouldn't have been, but she is, let's just focus on what is, let's not, please)

Her walk is eerily silent, but her walks always are. Any native mobile organics tend to avoid her. As do most gems. It doesn't bother her though. She knows what she is. (this is your fault, if you want to blame anyone blame _them_, you know what they did)

As she walks, her head begins to pound (why didn't you tell me you were injured? you didn't ask) but she ignores it (let's just get home before we start fighting) as best she can with her vision beginning to blur (don't worry i think i know this area, you always say that but you're always wrong i don't know why we ever listen to you). She has to keep going (there's a possibility of enemy troops in these woods) but she wants desperately to rest (did we really… yes we really did, get used to it this is what real war looks like). She won't rest until Rose is out of danger. She starts to run just to make the land pass her by faster (i'd be much faster on my own, what about the rest of us?).

Her mask cracks and she can feeling like an aching muscle, an open wound, a broken bone, an itch she can't seem to scratch. (almost there, almost there, almost there, almost there)

Alexandrite falls apart just barely inside the gates of the Lunar Sea Spire.

Pearl picks Rose's gem up, cradles her to her chest, every muscle in her body shaking with fear, with exhaustion, with relief.

Amethyst curls up as small as she can, trying desperately to ride the waves of pain, wishing she could block the sounds of cracking gems.

Ruby feels nothing but almost hysterical excitement that makes her laugh and laugh, but she knows she won't be able to move come morning.

Sapphire straightens herself up, brushes off her dress, taking the role of commander Rose left to her and shoves aside the horrors she's seen.

She walks over to Amethyst and crouches down next to her.

"I'm sorry," she whispers and she means it, "but we had to get out of there alive."

Amethyst shakes her head desperately. "We could have just cracked their gems. We didn't have to-" She can't finish the sentence so Sapphire does it for her.

"Destroy them," she says and Amethyst flinches. "Yes we did. Or they could have destroyed Rose."

"There has to be another way," Amethyst pleads, tears rolling unchecked down her face.

Sapphire smiles sadly. "This is the other way. We used to just stand by and let things like this happen." She places her left hand on Amethyst's back and rubs soothing circles. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I forget how young you are."

"I just wanna forget today ever happened," Amethyst groans.

"You can," Sapphire says.

Amethyst blinks up at her. "What do you mean?"

Sapphire kisses her on the forehead. "I can make you forget all about today, all about this whole damn war. But not yet. Not until the war is over. If you still want to forget then, come find me." She walks back to where Ruby waits for her.

"Ready, love," Ruby asks.

"Always, dearest," Sapphire replies and even with the whole host of misery that day, she can't help but giggle like a child when Ruby sweeps her off her feet and twirls her around.

The nice thing about being a fusion, Garnet reflects, is that the damage doesn't seem to cross forms. Her skull is perfectly intact and the old strength invigorates her.

A small crowd has gathered, staring at the gems huddled on the stone floor.

"What are you looking at?" Garnet snaps. "Get back to work."

Gradually, they disperse, finding excuses to be somewhere else. In all this time, Pearl hasn't moved from where she stands.

"Are you alright?" Garnet asks gently.

Pearl gives her a watery smile. "This time I get to choose how we protect her," she says.

"Of course," Garnet says. She grins. "You know what she likes," she adds with a wink. Pearl blushes.

Three days later, Rose returns from her gem state. By what Garnet calls sheer luck, Pearl and Amethyst are with her to witness it. Rose sees them, smiles bright enough to make the stars look dim and draws them all into a warm embrace.

"You know," she says. "I think I might make a healing fountain. In fact, now that I think about it, it seems a bit silly not to have one."

They build the fountain together, set brambles with steel thorns to protect it. As they leave, Garnet sees a head of black curls out of the corner of her eye. She smiles. There will be time for tears later, but for now, Rose is safe.


End file.
